Marketing Plans : What Is Market Positioning?

Market Positioning

Segmentation facilitates consumer obsession because you can focus on the consumer you wish to target and create a more tailored market plan. This is critical because the smaller market is easier to focus on and you can predict your results based on your research and planning.

When a firm choses a particular segment to target, the primary consideration is whether this market has a need for your product and whether or not they will participate with your plan.

In marketing, positioning is the process by which marketers try to make an image or identity in the minds of their customers for its product, brand, or organization. This is why most companies have a hard time dealing with companies in their same market. They have to come up with clever marketing plans to position themselves to be the best in their market.

Some companies I say that compete with each other would be Apple and Amazon in their tablet market. Apple has the iPad and Amazon has the Kindle. They both have great products and are in the same market but both can be seen as different. Apple has the most popular product in the market, which is the iPad. People are familiar with the product and most buy it because it is popular. The Kindle is more affordable, and customers get what they need out of the product. At the end of the day both products are good but so it comes down to price and status with the customers. Amazon markets themselves as the affordable product while Apple is “cool.” This is a clear example of how positioning can affect the market place.

Market Research

An interesting look at Market Research.

Show Me Some Data

My company uses research to understand their customer. They mainly use primary research where they survey their customers to see if they received satisfaction while viewing the show and visiting the facility.

I think that they would gain a lot more if they engaged in secondary research where they looked at studies that have already been done and they can use this information to improve on servicing the customer. They can see how other theatres increased their attendance to shows and what marketing strategies they used to fill more seats. It is important to learn from others who were successful and most importantly it’s free.

Dr. Rosling gained a tremendous amount of information while studying his data. He was able to compare a lot of the counties side by side and see how they differed and changed over time.

By breaking down the data the way he did, he explained that we could not solve world issues by thinking of it in a regional way but more so by breaking down the regions into the relative countries and solving the life expectancy crisis.

For my marketing plan I will use the various recourses that is available to me to collect data. I will use the Internet and use all valid data that I could find. I will use the library and use scholarly journals to find any studies that were related to my market plan. I will make sure that all of the information I find is legitimate and applicable to the market plan.

Dr. Rosling showed how important data could be in tracking progression in a country. This can definitely be used in Marketing since you can view how well or how poorly your client or company is progressing. Data is an essential part in Market Research. This video and the analysis of my company showed how important it is to make use of research and incorporate it into your market plan.

Marketing for a Theatre (External Factors)

I am currently interning for the Madame Walker Theatre here in Indianapolis. I assist with the Marketing and Public Relations affairs for the theatre. The theatre is largely used for its stage where they host various events such as plays, concerts, and other events involving the performing arts.

The Madame Walker Theatre is a not for profit organization and being that it is the theatre is highly dependent on donations and fund raising to keep the business going. Since this is the case, there are not a lot of resources that can be spent on Marketing for the theatre’s events.

Considering the amount of money the theatre’s competitors are probably spending on Marketing, you can see how this would be a disadvantage. Other external factors to consider in strategic planning for the business besides using marketing resources that would be at a low cost would be hoe the latest competitive trends used to gain marketing attention and how quickly changes are occurring in the external environment.

Factors affecting the external environment are a huge part of what’s going into the marketing strategies now. Since it is holiday season, the theatre has been capitalizing on the holiday market and putting on family oriented events. This has bought in a diverse audience from school age children to seniors wanting to see the shows.

The mission at the theatre is definitely consumer focused. I am always asked my opinion on certain show ideas and whether or not I’d think people would come out to particular events and if it would be entertaining to people in my age range. I think consumer focused marketing is the best and most effective because you are making the customer the center of your marketing strategy. This is essential because they are the ones who are bringing in the money to keep your business going.

The company does have a mission and that is to continue the dream of Madame C.J. Walker, which was doing events for the community and being financially independent. The theatre puts on programming that is dignified events and is family oriented. They do not compromise this at all and it is good that they are sticking to ideology.

A change in the external environment that could play a huge impact on the Madame Walker Theatre Center and its marketing strategies is the growth and popularity of social media. This is a free tool and something that can be used to promote events at no cost. Social Media strategies can be developed and carried out to produce measurable results. They can see who came to the theatre based from their promotions on social media by utilizing their customer satisfaction survey to see if the marketing strategy is working.

The product/service distributed by the theatre is the performances that are put on for the community. The needs the shows give is providing the customer with a satisfying and entertaining performance. The income received by the company can be improved with careful and well-planned marketing strategies.